Wild Bees: Photographs by Paula Sharp and Ross Eatman

April 14, 2018 - November 11, 2018

This exhibition Wild Bees features exquisite color photographs of wild bees in their natural habitats, along with an exploration of their varied lifestyles. The photographs are part of an ongoing wild bee project undertaken by photojournalist and writer Paula Sharp and nature photographer Ross Eatman, who began documenting wild bees inhabiting New York's Rockefeller State Park Preserve and neighboring Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in 2014. Their lenses capture in beautiful detail the tremendous variety of shapes, colors and sizes of the insects. The essential role bees play in our planet’s health also comes into view.

Wild bees are important pollinators of wildflowers, garden flowers and commercial crops including fruit trees, berries, melons and garden vegetables. Although domesticated honeybees often are used to pollinate cultivated plants, wild bees are able to pollinate many flowers and crops that honey bees cannot.

The exhibition will include spectacular views of a variety of pinned bee specimens magnified by a video microscope, as well as three detailed, enlarged models of wild bees, an interactive bee Identification guide, and examples of a few wild bee homes.

The exhibition is supported by Guardian Life, The Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund, the Connecticut Office of the Arts and a Committee of Honor.